What is HIV / AIDS: Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis,

and Treatment

Definition and Overview

HIV, which stands for human immunodeficiency virus, is a specific type of virus that causes the
serious illness more commonly known as AIDS. The virus is particularly life threatening because it
targets the body’s immune system and compromises the body’s ability to fight infections and
diseases.

Thus, a person who contracts the human immunodeficiency virus has a high chance of developing
certain infections and cancers. If the patients’ CD4 or T-cell count dropped to less than 200, they are
considered to have AIDS.

Causes
An HIV infection is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus, which works by destroying the
CD4 cells in the body. CD4 cells are white blood cells that play an important role in fighting infections
and diseases that threaten the body.

This virus spreads through the blood, semen, or vaginal fluids. Risk factors include the following:

 Engaging in unprotected sexual contact with an infected person

 Engaging in sexual contact with several different partners
 Having sexual intercourse with sex workers or drug users
 Using the same needle during injections, usually for drugs
 Using non-sterile needles for piercing or tattooing
 Having other sexually transmitted diseases such as herpes, syphilis, gonorrhea, or
chlamydia
 Receiving blood transfusion before the year 1985, after which all donated blood are carefully
tested for HIV
HIV can also be passed from mother to fetus during pregnancy.

Stages and Symptoms

HIV or AIDS develops in stages. Each stage bears different symptoms.

First stage: Acute infection or seroconversion

There is a two to six week window following the exposure to the human immunodeficiency virus
within which the person can become infected. During this stage, the body tries to fight the virus, thus
causing initial symptoms that are often likened to flu symptoms. This stage usually lasts a week or
two and is followed by a non-symptomatic stage.

Symptoms during this stage include:

 Nausea
 Vomiting
 Headache
 Fatigue
 Diarrhea
 Muscle aches and pains
 Sore throat
 Fever
 Red rashes (more commonly appearing on the torso)
Second stage: Asymptomatic stage

Once the initial symptoms have passed, this means the second stage has elapsed. The infection
now takes hold of the body as the immune system completely loses the battle. This is often a long
period, sometimes lasting for ten years or even longer, during which the patient may feel no
symptoms at all. Inside the body, however, the virus is gradually destroying the CD4 T-cells, which
should normally be between 450 and 1400 cells for every microliter. This is also the stage where
many infected individuals may unknowingly pass the virus on to others.

Third stage: AIDS

The third stage is widely known as AIDS, which is the advanced stage of the infection. The defining
factor of this stage is when the CD4 T-cells drop to below 200 per microliter.

A wide range of more serious symptoms may now arise during this stage. These include:

 Unexplained chronic tiredness

 Swollen lymph nodes in groin or neck
 Fever that does not go away after ten days
 Unexplained weight loss
 Shortness of breath
 Severe or chronic diarrhea
 Night sweats
 Yeast infections (more commonly in the throat, mouth, or vagina)
 Unexplained bleeding
 Easy bruising
 Purplish spots that do not disappear over time
Who to See
If you experience any of the first and third stage symptoms, see your doctor immediately. Not all
doctors are experienced or trained in treating HIV or AIDS, but your general physician can diagnose
the disease and rule out other illnesses.

Your physician may use different tests to diagnose HIV/AIDS, which typically include the following:

 Antibody screening test or immunoassay (detects the infection within three to six months
after exposure)
 Antigen test (may test positive as early as three weeks after exposure)
 RNA test (a highly expensive test that detects the disease around 10 days following
exposure)

Types of Treatments Available

The main treatment for HIV infected individuals involves a ‘cocktail’ or combination of different
medications called antiretroviral drugs, all of which work together to rebuild the immune system.
Although this treatment does not remove the virus, it counteracts the virus’ negative effects.

Thus, it is critical that an HIV patient does not stop taking all the medications and that at least three
or more of the prescribed drugs are taken together. Mixing different drugs has been proven to be
more effective because the chances of the virus’ developing resistance to treatment become lower.

Once the CD4 T-cells count begins to increase, patients can also be given drugs to prevent specific
types of infections.

With the proper treatment plan, many people infected with HIV now live long normal lives, with a
doctor working continuously with them for long-term management of the disease.

Although there is no specialty in the medical profession that focuses on HIV/AIDS treatment, there is
a worldwide initiative that helps patients get the treatment and assistance they need as they live and
cope with the disease.

When Should You See A Specialist?

If you suspect that you have come in contact with an infected person, see your doctor immediately.
When it is caught in the earliest stage or right after the initial infection, there is now a way for doctors
to prevent HIV from settling into the system. This method, which uses anti-HIV drugs, is often used
by people, such as health care workers and those in the police force, who could be exposed to blood
that may have HIV.
If you notice any of the third stage symptoms, see your doctor immediately so that you may be given
proper treatment. If tested positive, you may be referred to a doctor who can work with you full-time
in managing your disease. Patients in the third stage may also be referred to HIV/AIDS
organizations that provide not just medical but also psychological and emotional support for those
suffering from the disease.

References:

 Osmond DH PhD. “Epidemiology of HIV in the United States.”

 Hare CH. “Clinical Overview of HIV Disease.”
 Crothers K; Huang L. “Critical Care of Patients with HIV.”
 Donegan, E. MD. “Transmission of HIV by Blood, Blood Products, Tissue Transplantation,
and Artificial Insemination.”
 Hughes AM; Jones DJ. “Inpatient Management of the Adult with Advanced HIV Disease.”
 Ludwig A; Chittenden E. “Palliative Care of Patients with HIV.”

Where did HIV come from?

Scientists identified a type of chimpanzee in West Africa as the source of HIV infection in humans. They
believe that the chimpanzee version of the immunodeficiency virus (called simian immunodeficiency
virus or SIV) most likely was transmitted to humans and mutated into HIV when humans hunted these
chimpanzees for meat and came into contact with their infected blood. Over decades, the virus slowly
spread across Africa and later into other parts of the world.

The earliest known case of infection with HIV-1 in a human was detected in a blood sample collected in
1959 from a man in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (How he became infected is not
known.) Genetic analysis of this blood sample suggested that HIV-1 may have stemmed from a single
virus in the late 1940s or early 1950s.

We know that the virus has existed in the United States since at least the mid- to late 1970s. From 1979–
1981 rare types of pneumonia, cancer, and other illnesses were being reported by doctors in Los
Angeles and New York among a number of male patients who had sex with other men. These were
conditions not usually found in people with healthy immune systems.

In 1982 public health officials began to use the term "acquired immunodeficiency syndrome," or AIDS,
to describe the occurrences of opportunistic infections, Kaposi's sarcoma (a kind of cancer),
and Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia in previously healthy people. Formal tracking (surveillance) of
AIDS cases began that year in the United States.

In 1983, scientists discovered the virus that causes AIDS. The virus was at first named HTLV-III/LAV
(human T-cell lymphotropic virus-type III/lymphadenopathy-associated virus) by an international
scientific committee. This name was later changed to HIV (human immunodeficiency virus).
For many years scientists theorized as to the origins of HIV and how it appeared in the human
population, most believing that HIV originated in other primates. Then in 1999, an international team of
researchers reported that they had discovered the origins of HIV-1, the predominant strain of HIV in the
developed world. A subspecies of chimpanzees native to west equatorial Africa had been identified as
the original source of the virus. The researchers believe that HIV-1 was introduced into the human
population when hunters became exposed to infected blood.